Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund Takes Position in Independence Realty Trust, Inc. $IRT

Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund acquired a new position in shares of Independence Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:IRT) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 135,700 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $2,021,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Danske Bank A S acquired a new stake in shares of Independence Realty Trust during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. SHP Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of Independence Realty Trust in the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Independence Realty Trust by 70.3% in the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,810 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 747 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Independence Realty Trust by 97.9% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,875 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 1,422 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assetmark Inc. increased its stake in Independence Realty Trust by 73.2% in the 1st quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 3,630 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $54,000 after purchasing an additional 1,534 shares in the last quarter. 88.25% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Independence Realty Trust Trading Down 0.4%

NYSE:IRT opened at $16.63 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $3.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 83.14 and a beta of 0.95. The company’s 50-day moving average is $16.61 and its two-hundred day moving average is $16.34. Independence Realty Trust, Inc. has a 12-month low of $14.60 and a 12-month high of $18.18.

Independence Realty Trust (NYSE:IRT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.26 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.03 by $0.23. The business had revenue of $165.32 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $166.35 million. Independence Realty Trust had a net margin of 7.27% and a return on equity of 1.35%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.27 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Independence Realty Trust, Inc. will post 1.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Independence Realty Trust Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 26th were paid a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 26th. This is an increase from Independence Realty Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. Independence Realty Trust’s dividend payout ratio is presently 360.00%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group raised Independence Realty Trust to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. UBS Group dropped their price target on Independence Realty Trust from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Independence Realty Trust from a “sell” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 2nd. Barclays raised shares of Independence Realty Trust from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $19.00 to $20.00 in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Independence Realty Trust from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Monday, July 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Independence Realty Trust has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $19.64.

Independence Realty Trust Company Profile

Independence Realty Trust is a self-administered equity real estate investment trust that acquires, redevelops and manages multi-family communities. The company focuses on workforce housing, targeting Class A and B garden-style apartments in suburban and urban infill locations. Its core activities include sourcing value-add acquisitions, overseeing property renovations and delivering in-house property management services to optimize rental income and occupancy levels.

Headquartered in Wayne, Pennsylvania, Independence Realty Trust maintains a geographically diverse portfolio across several high-growth U.S.